Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of beverage dispensing systems, and more particularly, protein beverage dispensing systems.
Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR § 1.97 and 37 CFR § 1.98
Consumption of protein beverages before and after exercise has been proven important to help with the body recovery process and to maximize muscle gain. However, it is time consuming for a person manually to mix protein powder with water to make a protein beverage before and after a workout. This daily ritual for millions of people includes starting with a clean protein shaker bottle, scooping the right amount of protein powder into the shaker bottle, adding the right amount of water and shaking up the admixture to dissolve the protein powder in the water to create a protein beverage. Manually preparing a protein beverage requires extra time and inconvenience for a person to include preparing a clean shaker bottle, mixing the protein powder and water in the shaker bottle, and shaking the admixture to create a protein beverage, often resulting in a less-than-appealing, inconsistent admixture in which the powder is clumped or not uniformly dispersed or dissolved within the water. An alternative to manually preparing one's own protein beverage with protein powder and water is to buy prepared or premixed protein beverages, but these are more expensive than preparing one's own protein beverage as described. Additionally, nutrients can deteriorate when premixed with water or other liquids and the protein powder loses its potency and freshness. Various beverage mixing and dispensing systems or machines are known that attempt to solve the problem of manual preparation of a beverage.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,162,210 issued Apr. 24, 2012, by McInerney et al. for “Water and Drink Mix Vending Machine” discloses a liquid and drink mix vending machine that can vend both potable water and as an additional purchase option drink mixes (e.g., flavored drink mixes). The vending machine can include a liquid vending system and a drink mix vending system. The liquid vending system can vend different amounts of water, which can be delivered to a container provided by a user. The drink mix vending system can vend a variety of drink mixes, including drink mixes of different concentrations for a given quantity of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,359,963 issued Jan. 29, 2013, by Denisart et al. for “Control Device Having a Peristaltic Valve for a Drink Preparing Machine” discloses a drink preparing machine that includes a tank, a water supply system having at least a section for heated water and a section for unheated water, a pump for conveying water from the tank through the supply system as far as a module for preparing the drink, and a valve device arranged so as to control the selective opening and closing of the supply system sections. The valve device is a peristaltic system that includes a compression member for compressing a tube of each supply system section and acting under the effect of an elastic return member.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,978,928 issued Mar. 17, 2015, by Sinnema et al. for “Apparatus for Producing a Drink, and the Use of the Apparatus” discloses an apparatus for producing a drink, for example milk, from mixing a powder formula with a liquid, preferably water, the apparatus preferably being an automated baby-milk machine. The apparatus is configured to prepare a drink concentrate by mixing the amount of formula necessary for the total amount of drink in a certain amount of hot liquid, and to add the right amount of liquid of a certain low temperature to the concentrate in order to reach the end volume of the drink at a safe drinking temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,026,245 issued May 5, 2015, by Tilton et al. for “Container-Less Custom Beverage Vending Invention” discloses methods and an apparatus describing a convenience beverage vending machine and its operation. An embedded computer interface allows consumers to create their own drinks or choose from a menu of drinks. Drinks are dispensed in a re-usable container. The beverages may be made from hot water, cold water or carbonated water that is mixed with various flavors of syrup, sweeteners and nutritional supplements. Identification may be presented and the computer recognizes the consumer and pulls up that consumer's account to determine funds available and previous drink selections and mixtures. The machine may incorporate an automatic cleaning cycle for both the valves and the dispense area.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,254,060 issued Feb. 9, 2016, by Butera et al. for “Multi-Beverage Vending Machine” discloses an instant drink vending machine. The instant drink vending machine has a water supply system for obtaining mixed warm water with a temperature selected among a set of pre-determined temperatures comprised between an upper and a lower value corresponding to temperatures of hot water and cold water to be mixed, said system including thermostatic shape memory alloy devices.
A disadvantage of these machines is that they are all mixing a beverage while dispensing the beverage in a one-step, continuous motion. Therefore, there is a need for a system, machine or apparatus that will first mix ingredients of a beverage, such as a dry ingredient with a liquid ingredient, and then dispense the mixed beverage. A single liquid protein beverage dispensing system of the present invention provides a solution to the problem of mixing then dispensing a resultant, consistent admixture of a mixed dry ingredient and liquid ingredient beverage.